Bonus Post! A Nostalgic Book Review for “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer

On By KaraIn -The Classics and Nostalgic Books, -Young Adult/New Adult, Uncategorized

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If you’ve been following my blog since 2018, you may remember that I’ve already reviewed the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. I decided to delete those reviews because I don’t fully agree with the opinions I had. I’m not sure if I was influenced by other reviews or if I was just cranky but I went IN on those books. The criticisms I had are still valid but I just wasn’t as bothered this time around. I’ll discuss this more down below, though. This review will have spoilers.

Synopsis:

About three things I was absolutely positive.

First, Edward was a vampire.

Second, there was a part of him—and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be—that thirsted for my blood.

And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Deeply seductive and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight is a love story with bite.

My Thoughts:

In case you didn’t see my previous review, I want to go into my history with the series. When Twilight was first released, I was thirteen years old. I believe I read it for the first time when I was fourteen and I was in LOVE. This was the first real vampire story I can remember reading and everything about it was just perfect to me. Edward and Bella were goals and I wanted friends like Jacob and the Cullens. My friends and I would read and then discuss the books together. We went and saw the first two movies together and I saw the last two (technically three) with my then boyfriend, now husband. If it’s not obvious, this book series holds a very special place in my nostalgic heart.

I decided to read this series again because the world is a stressful place right now. These books are a safe place for me; they’re comfortable. Reading them is like coming home after a long day, changing into comfy clothes and relaxing. I didn’t have the best time reading these books in 2018 so I was worried that they would be a chore to get through and not the escape I wanted them to be. Luckily, that was not the case.

During my last reread, I was so annoyed by Bella and Edward. I still loved everything else about this book but I couldn’t stand them. The insta-obsession and Bella’s cardboard personality irked me. I found Edward to be overly possessive and creepy… and not in a good vampire kind of way. All of those things haven’t changed but they just didn’t bother me this time around. Bella IS way too dependent, they ARE too obsessed with each other and Edward watching Bella sleep without her permission IS super creepy. These are facts but I think it’s important to keep in mind when this book was written.

Are certain aspects of Twilight cringey and dated? Yes but it was released in 2005, not the late 20-teens. This book completely changed the game when it was written. It was unique, creative and the true start of YA fantasy as we know it. This is probably sad to say but Bella and Edward’s relationship, at that time, was seen as unbelievably romantic. Every girl wanted that. Times and viewpoints change. I’m not saying people can’t dislike this book or series but I am saying it should be read with all of that in mind.

I think Stephenie Meyer is a fantastic writer, even by today’s standards. Her books are page turners and once I start reading one of them, it’s hard to put it down. I hate that she, and any fans of hers, have been so criticized because people decided that it was unacceptable for anybody to enjoy these books. These books are FUN and there’s nothing wrong with reading just for the fun of it.

Final Thoughts:

I’ll have reviews up for the rest of this series over the next three weekends. Feel free to let me know down below what your thoughts are about Twilight, even if your opinions are different than mine. Thanks for reading and have a great day!

13 thoughts on “Bonus Post! A Nostalgic Book Review for “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer”

  1. I’ve read all the novels in this series and I must say that I’ve never felt the negativity towards these books. I have to give it to Meyer – writing a page-turner isn’t easy, let alone such a popular page-turner. My taste in books is completely different and I’ve read the Twilight series to know what the fuss was all about. IMO, ripping Twilight apart is the same as comparing rom-coms to something like ‘A Beautiful Mind’ – pointless, because the purpose and target audiences are different. In its genre, Twilight series does its job and delivers the experience it’s supposed to (and books are better than the movies).

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      3. Exactly! To me Twilight was as easy to read and some plot twists were really romantic and touching. What really was painful for me to read (and I couldn’t go through more than 10 pages actually) was the 50 Shades books by E L James – it started as Twilight fan fiction and I didn’t feel like it even did justice to the genre at all or the original books.

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  2. I was obsessed with these books when they first come out. I agree Bella and Edwards obsession with each other is far to much but as a 13 year old when these come out I thought it was cute that they loved each other that much. It wasn’t until I re-read them later on in life I thought it was super creepy and Bella def. should of chosen Jacob he was a nice person.

    Although Jacob could have done better then Bella because she is just an arsehole – going between the two when Edward didnt want her.

    I love the Twilight book written in Edwards point of view.

    Great view – I might consider doing some book reviews, I have read so many and would like to chat to people about my opinions etc.

    Can’t wait for the next one.

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